Called to Be Saints
BY JOSIE SCHUMAN | November 2, 2020
Sunday’s Readings
“To be saints is not a privilege for the few, but a vocation for everyone,” said Pope Francis. This has always been a difficult concept for me to wrap my head around. How can I be like some of the holiest people that have ever lived?
How can I like Saint Martin de Porres who nursed the sick and cared for the poor, specifically those who were orphaned and those who were enslaved, to fight for racial justice and equity?
How can I be like Saint Oscar Romero who fearlessly defended human rights when El Salvador was on the brink of civil war and dedicated his life to uplifting the poor and vulnerable?
How can I be like Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman who inspired the Ignatian family with her prophetic resilience and commitment to using the rich African American cultural and spiritual tradition of song, preaching, and prayer to dismantle racial and cultural barriers?
Sometimes I feel small in comparison to these holy trailblazers who embody the idea of a faith that does justice. But, we must remember that saints are people too—people that we can be.
I reflect on the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who, obsessed with riches and fame, lived a life of privilege before responding to God’s call. However, he experienced a drastic change of heart after reading a book about—none other than—the saints! By following the example of the saints, Ignatius was able to join them, and we are called to do the same.
In this week’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us how we can live out our vocation of sainthood with the Beatitudes. Among other things, Jesus calls us to work for peace and justice—to chase our hunger and thirst for righteousness, despite persecution from others.
With one more day until the election, one way we can live out the Beatitudes is by exercising our right to vote, specifically for candidates whose practices and policies will protect and uplift the most vulnerable members of society. Those unable to vote can also participate by boosting voter participation, working at the polls, donating to campaigns or raising awareness for the issues that matter to you.
This year’s election provides us with a unique opportunity to answer God’s call to holiness and sainthood.
Josie Schuman is a former ISN intern and graduate of John Carroll University. She is currently a member of the Urban Catholic Teacher Corp at Boston College, pursuing a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction while teaching 5th grade English. Josie is passionate about faith-based antiracist education and hopes to inspire students of color to use reading and writing as tool for social change.
We know that both choices are weak, both have faults but people are going to vote over falsehoods and hate without any thought on which candidate can make everything ok. We’ve been exposed to a lot of media coverage with some not reporting the truth and tech companies shadow banning certain outlets cause it does not fit there agenda.
Everything is pointing towards a particular candidate to win due to certain circumstances that have happened these past months but it was this particular candidate that made the prison system what it is today which in hindsight affected my community worse than anything today.
I won’t be voting has I see both unfit to run a country has both candidates the bad outweighs the good but only one can actually communicate properly.
It would of been easy just to say “Vote Biden” because that’s what this really is one last chance to swing the mind of a undecided voter and the rest of it a page filler which I don’t agree with.
Whites and Asians can be affected by everyday problems and by the system not just my culture and Latinx, stop segregating other races and fight for them too cause God or Jesus would not segregate or be biased remember that.
All Saints of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and from Oceania – Pray for us.